Abstract
Interaction between the nervous and immune systems greatly contributes to inflammatory disease. In organs at the interface between our body and the environment, the sensory neuropeptide substance P (SP) is one key mediator of an acute local stress response through neurogenic inflammation but may also alter cytokine balance and dendritic cell (DC) function. Using a combined murine allergic inflammation/noise stress model with C57BL/6 mice, we show in this paper that SP--released during repeated stress exposure--has the capacity to markedly attenuate inflammation. In particular, repeated stress exposure prior to allergen sensitization increases DC-nerve fiber contacts, enhances DC migration and maturation, alters cytokine balance, and increases levels of IL-2 and T regulatory cell numbers in local lymph nodes and inflamed tissue in a neurokinin 1-SP-receptor (neurokinin-1 receptor)-dependent manner. Concordantly, allergic inflammation is significantly reduced after repeated stress exposure. We conclude that SP/repeated stress prior to immune activation acts protolerogenically and thereby beneficially in inflammation.
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